


Redo

by shonn



Series: Repetition [19]
Category: The West Wing
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-27 13:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22147852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shonn/pseuds/shonn
Summary: “Rule number one,” Abbey said softly. “We can’t do that anymore.”
Relationships: Abbey Bartlet/C. J. Cregg, Abbey Bartlet/Jed Bartlet
Series: Repetition [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/32081
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Redo

**Author's Note:**

> **NOTES:** Since I stay true to canon, it is important you have at least a passing familiarity with each episode these installments are based on. However, I have refrained from using as many snippets of episodic dialogue in this one as in the last one. Only the dance scene from “A Good Day” contains dialogue not my own.
> 
>  **EPISODES:** Starts at the end of “Drought Conditions” (6.16), has a clip of “A Good Day” (6.17), but then covers the rest of season 6 through behind the scenes – mostly phone calls – between our ladies.

Abbey was reading when she glanced up to see her husband walk into their bedroom. She looked over her glasses from her spot in the bed.

“Hey. I wasn’t expecting you so soon.”

He smiled as he came to sit next to her. “I ran out of people to talk to.”

“I doubt that.”

He chuckled. “I see you wasted no time in escaping the fiasco.”

“Unlike you, I always take the opportunity to run when it is presented.”

“You’re just jealous of my legions of fans lured to my charm and wit.” She snorted at that, and he smiled again. “Abbey.” He waited until he was sure he had her attention. “Talk to C.J.” He saw a flicker of something in her eyes, but it was so fast he wasn’t sure what it was. Still, he knew a quip was coming, so he placed his hand on her knee to forestall any comment. “Talk to C.J.,” he repeated. She just nodded and returned to her magazine as he made his way to the bathroom.

As door closed behind him, Abbey took off her glasses and looked toward the window, lost in thought. She knew Jed had noticed the distance between she and the CoS at the party that night. Normally, they would gravitate to each other. They always had. It was part of their problem. She and C.J. couldn’t stay away.

Abbey smiled as she remembered she had whispered those very words to C.J. not very long ago before leaving them both broken hearted. 

Again.

Sighing, Abbey understood she and C.J. would need to talk, to work out their current situation. They couldn’t continue to ignore each other, especially if others were starting to take notice, but they also couldn’t continue their illicit romance. They would just need to find a balance. A redo, of sorts, of the relationship they had in the beginning. 

The problem was, Abbey mused as Jed joined her in bed, that she and C.J.’s relationship had always had an underlining of desire beneath their genuine affection for one another. She wondered if they could ever return to ignoring such a deep-seeded yearning.

What scared her the most was that she wondered if she even wanted to.

***

It was late, and C.J. was deep into a briefing book when she felt a presence in her doorway. Glancing up, she did a double take to find Abbey there.

“Ma’am,” she said slowly, inwardly preparing for the mixture of emotions the first lady brought with her. “Is there something I can do for you?”

Abbey walked in and shut the door, moving to sit in one of the chairs in front of C.J.’s desk. C.J. watched her apprehensively. It had been a month since Abbey had essentially put an end to their affair, and they had not spoken in that time, going as far as to avoid being in the same room together. Secretly, C.J. was glad of that now. Breathing hurt when looking at Abbey, and C.J. didn’t know what to do with her sadness. 

The silence between them stretched, and C.J. realized Abbey was struggling with her words. Finally, in the most defeated tone Abbey had ever heard, C.J. said, “Just tell me. Whatever it is, just get it over with.”

Abbey smirked, and C.J. almost relaxed. “Jed sent me to talk to you.”

Tension promptly returned to C.J.’s body as she sat up straighter in her chair.

“Why? About what?” Fear sprang into C.J.’s eyes. “Is he okay?”

Abbey’s smirk faltered at C.J.’s concern and melted into a gentle smile. “I love you,” Abbey said, and they both seemed surprised at the admission.

“I doubt that’s what he sent you here to tell me.”

“No, it’s a fairly accurate interpretation, just not in the way he thought.”

“Abbey?”

“He thinks he’s ruined our friendship by putting you in the middle of how he manages his disease, his job, and his wife.”

C.J. sighed heavily and said angrily, “If he only knew the truth…” She stood and moved to the window, staring out at the darkness just as Abbey had done the previous night.

“You’re not in the middle of my marriage, C.J. I love you, I am in love with you, but I am also married, with children and grandchildren and responsibilities even you can’t fully understand.”

Abbey could tell C.J. didn’t know what to say but gave the CoS time to digest what she’d heard.

“C.J., look at me. He is not just another one of those responsibilities. I love him. I am still in love with him. I always will be.”

“You don’t have to keep reminding me you’re his wife, Abbey. Believe me, I remember.”

“Do you?” Abbey asked and watched as the fight drained from C.J.’s body and the taller woman sat on the sofa as if she no longer had the strength to stand. Once again, silence prevailed for several minutes.

“I miss my friend,” C.J. said suddenly. “I miss talking to her and being with her and…I miss my friend.”

Abbey sighed and then moved to sit next to C.J. “I know. I miss my friend, too.”

“I want her back,” C.J. said. “If I can’t have her any other way, I want at least that.”

“We tried that once already. It didn’t work.” Memories of their night together flashed through both their minds.

“So, that’s it?” C.J. asked. “We’re just nothing to each other anymore?”

“Nothing? No, I think the real question is: Do you think we can try to find our way back to being nothing more than friends?”

C.J. shook her head and closed her eyes for a long moment before meeting Abbey’s conflicted gaze. “Maybe this time we don’t put ourselves in situations where temptation threatens to topple everything else we’ve achieved.”

Abbey nodded. “Ground rules,” she said unnecessarily. “Well, I guess…”

“Wait!” At Abbey’s startled expression, C.J. softened her voice. “If we’re going to do this, I know what the first rule will be, and I don’t want to break it before we’ve even really started, but I...”

“One for the road?” Abbey said, interrupting C.J., reading her mind like C.J. knew she could.

“Something like that.”

Abbey reached to caress C.J.’s cheek, her touch lingering as C.J. smiled.

“I’m so sorry, C.J. I never should have…”

“No. Don’t.” C.J. leaned forward. “We did this together.”

C.J. waited for Abbey’s nod before ghosting her lips across Abbey’s once and then twice before pressing their mouths together. Abbey opened to her immediately, and C.J. deepened the kiss instantly. Her hands tangled in Abbey’s hair, and she felt Abbey’s fingers scorching against the skin of her lower back. C.J. moaned roughly at the contact and pulled Abbey closer. One kiss dissolved into two and then three. Abbey’s breath was ragged as C.J. trailed her mouth across her jaw, her throat, latching onto Abbey’s neck, turning Abbey’s head just slightly for better access. 

“Oh, Claudia Jean. You have to…you have to stop,” Abbey said but then forced C.J.’s lips to her own again. 

“The things I want to do to you,” C.J. whispered hotly into Abbey’s ear, and Abbey melted against her. She dragged a hand along Abbey’s chest, her palm easily finding a pebbled peak through the material of Abbey’s shirt. Abbey arched into her as they kissed again, wet and messy and desperate. 

They both jumped when C.J.’s phone rang, the intrusion of the outside world startlingly and harsh. C.J. rested her head against Abbey’s shoulder and tried to catch her breath. Neither woman moved until the noise stopped, and then C.J. felt Abbey’s fingers running through her hair and a tender kiss to her temple.

“Rule number one,” Abbey said softly. “We can’t do that anymore.”

C.J. laughed as she untangled herself from Abbey’s embrace. “Just how many rules do you think we’re going to need?” she asked.

Abbey pushed a strand of C.J.’s hair from her eyes. “Enough so that we don’t completely lose each other but not so many that we can’t find our way back to our friendship.”

“I guess remembering right from wrong should be our standard.”

“Yeah,” Abbey said sadly. C.J. leaned back on the sofa, putting space between them, but intertwined their fingers. “I should go.” They both stood, and C.J. watched as Abbey smoothed her clothes back into place. 

“We’ll talk soon?” C.J. asked as she walked Abbey to the door. 

“Yes. I’ll see you in a couple of days. Have you picked out your dress for the party?”

“I have. It’s blue. I think you’ll like it.”

Abbey smiled. “I’m sure I will. Good night, C.J.”

“Good night, Abbey.” C.J. watched her go and sent up a silent prayer she would stop shaking soon.

***

Two days later, C.J. entered the Oval and watched the first couple dance for a second before Abbey noticed her. 

“I can come back,” she said, already turning to leave.

“No, no, stay, stay. Jed, you have to use the cane,” Abbey admonished.

“Doc said I didn't have to use it at home. Right, C.J.?”

“I'm guessing he meant the residence, sir, not the entire White House,” C.J. said.

“My home, where I'm having a party tonight with dancing. You ready to cut a rug?” he asked as he took her in his arms. 

“I'm the product of a ballroom class short on boys. Tall girls had to lead.”

C.J. caught Abbey’s eyes over the president’s shoulder and barely heard his replied, “Look how well it's served you.”

“You're in rare form today, sir,” C.J. said contentedly despite the traces of guilt that seemed to linger around Abbey’s smile as the president released her.

“He certainly is.”

“The speaker withdrew his bill attacking stem cell research.”

“More good news,” the president said.

“He'll reschedule when our guys leave town.”

“That could be as soon as when?”

The president put his arm around his wife, and C.J. tried not to be jealous. “Tomorrow, during your press conference.”

“Still, something to be said for MS. Good days, you don't take for granted,” he said, pulling Abbey closer, as C.J. held the first lady’s gaze.

“About tonight, sir,” she began.

“Nobel laureates, some my favorite people,” he interjected. 

“I wanted to ask you about Yosh Takahashi. I assumed you weren't close. I mean, I know he's the economist you shared the Nobel with.”

“Not shared. Split,” he said darkly.

“Right.”

“Ours was not a shared prize for shared work. The prize was split. That year, the Swedes chose to recognize two separate - some would say fundamentally divergent, even contradictory, - efforts in the same field.”

He let go of Abbey and made his way behind his desk, putting on his jacket. C.J. noticed Abbey move away from them both.

“He is a bit conservative,” C.J. agreed. 

“Ha! He makes Milton Friedman look middle of the road.”

“Well, thank God he's half a globe away and not on the guest list, so we don't have to think about him tonight,” Abbey said, and C.J. knew she was trying to avoid a rant.

C.J. hated to disappoint her, but she said, “That's the thing.”

“Be gentle. I'm not a well man.”

“Dr. Takahashi was invited.”

“He's flying in from Kyoto?” Abbey asked from her place behind the sofa.

C.J. studied her a beat too long before answering, “He's a visiting scholar at the University of Chicago this quarter.”

“He's crashing my party?”

“He's here now. . . . . .waiting to pay his respects.”

***

C.J. spotted Abbey as soon as she entered the parlor and took a second to admire the other woman before making her way toward her. Abbey smiled when she saw C.J.

“You look lovely,” she said, her eyes sparkling and her tone light. 

“So do you, ma’am,” C.J. responded, careful to keep her own tone respectful. “How’s it going?” she asked more quietly.

“Your president is monopolizing the crowd.”

“Sounds like it’s going to be a long night.”

Abbey rolled her eyes. “That’s an understatement. We’ll need to work together if we’re to survive.”

C.J. turned to listen to the president finish his story and then the practiced retort from Dr. Takahashi. The two women glanced at each other in shared anticipation of what they knew was to come and, as one, moved to intercept the oncoming brawl. Despite the circumstances, C.J. felt happy for the first time in months. 

Maybe this time, she and Abbey would get it right.

***

Two weeks later, C.J. walked into the Oval to leave a file on the president’s desk when she noticed movement on the portico. The doors opened to reveal Abbey, who glanced around the empty office before turning her attention to the smiling CoS.

“Did you finally decide to get rid of him and run the country yourself?” she quipped.

C.J. chuckled. “He’s in the Mural Room meeting with economic advisers. Do you want me to get him?”

Abbey shook her head. “No, let him run roughshod over them for a while. I’m back early and was thinking about lunch. Do you have plans?”

“Order a salad. Eat at my desk. Get interrupted. Never finish.” C.J. shrugged. “Just like every other day.”

“Join me?”

C.J.’s surprise turned into a beautiful grin. “I’d love to.”

Abbey motioned C.J. to follow her, and together they made their way back to the residence’s private dining room where the table was already set for two.

“Are you sure we should be doing this?” C.J. asked as she sat across from Abbey, who raised an eyebrow in response.

“Our ground rule was rather specific, C.J., and sharing food was not forbidden.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of me eating the president’s lunch,” C.J. said, but Abbey just smirked. 

“I think you can outrun him, C.J. Don’t worry so much.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about. It’s the 82nd airborne.” 

Abbey’s laughter eased every nerve in C.J.’s body.

***

When Abbey entered Jed’s study late on Monday evening, she noticed the copy of Hemingway open on the table next to his chair. She motioned to the book.

“What’s going on, Jed?”

“Leo has gone to Cuba.”

“Castro?” she asked as she took a seat in front of the fire, reaching her toes toward the heat.

“Hmm. He’ll be back in a day or two. We’ll know more then.”

“What does C.J. think?”

He took off his reading glasses and joined her on the sofa. “I haven’t told her.”

“Jed.” She shook her head. “You’ve got to stop shutting her out.”

He nodded. “Check on her, will you?”

She stared at him for a long moment and then got up, kissed him on the forehead, and made her way to her office. She dialed C.J.’s number from memory.

“Hey, you,” C.J. answered warmly. “I didn’t expect to hear from you.”

“We’re both working on redemption. I heard you had a frustrating day. Thought you’d like to blow off a little steam.”

C.J. leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. “You have amazing timing.”

“I’ve been told that before. Now, tell me about your day.” 

***

“The campaigns are bordering on the ridiculous at this point,” C.J. said holding the phone between her ear and her shoulder as she accepted a stack of folders from Margaret. “I think the president is going to be forced to step in, which I know he doesn’t want to do.”

“He’s still in the mindset of running. You need to remind him of his power.”

C.J. laughed. “Abigail Bartlet, I never thought I’d hear you say that.”

“If you tell anyone I did, I’ll never speak to you again.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” C.J. said as she signed her name to a report.

***

“Did you just get home? How’s the investigation going?” Abbey asked as she lounged in bed. 

“It wasn’t the NASA guy,” C.J. said as she leaned against her apartment wall to remove first one shoe and then the other. “And I was watching the convention in my office until we had a nominee. In celebration, I figured I could come home and get comfortable before all hell breaks loose in a few hours.”

“They have you to thank for that.”

“Me?” C.J. made her way into her kitchen to pour a glass of wine. 

“You pushed him to support the candidate he wanted, C.J. You did exactly what you needed to do. I told you you’d be good at this.”

“I…yeah, I guess so.” C.J. sighed. “Not about this shuttle issue though. He’s furious.”

“Don’t worry about it right now. You should get some rest.”

“Just talk to me a little while? About anything. Nothing.”

C.J. could hear Abbey smiling through the phone. “Sit down, relax, and let me tell you about the first time I tried milking a cow.”

Despite her worry, C.J. did exactly as Abbey directed, settling on her couch and listening to the dulcet tones of the first lady well into the night.


End file.
